{"product_id":"the-desert-lands-of-lost-borders","title":"The Desert: Lands of Lost Borders","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom endless sand dunes and prickly cacti to shimmering mirages and green oases  deserts evoke contradictory images in us. They are lands of desolation  but also of romance  of blistering Mojave heat and biting Gobi cold. Covering a quarter of the earths land mass and providing a home to half a billion people  they are both a physical reality and landscapes of the mind. The idea of the desert has long captured Western imagination  put on display in films and literature  but these portrayals often fail to capture the true scope and diversity of the people living there. Bridging the scientific and cultural gaps between perception and reality  The Desert celebrates our fascination with these arid lands and their inhabitants  as well as their importance both throughout history and in the world today.  Covering an immense geographical range  Michael Welland wanders from the Sahara to the Atacama  depicting the often bizarre adaptations of plants and animals to these hostile environments. He also looks at these seemingly infertile landscapes in the context of their place in historyas the birthplaces not only of critical evolutionary adaptations  civilizations  and social progress  but also of ideologies. Telling the stories of the diverse peoples who call the desert home  he describes how people have survived there  their contributions to agricultural development  and their emphasis on water and its scarcity. He also delves into the allure of deserts and how they have been used in literature and film and their influence on fashion  art  and architecture. As Welland reveals  deserts may be difficult to define  but they play an active role in the evolution of our global climate and society at large  and their future is of the utmost importance. Entertaining  informative  and surprising  The Desert is an intriguing new look at these seemingly harsh and inhospitable landscapes.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44966788956213,"sku":"ByrdShop_1780233604","price":38.55,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781780233604.jpg?v=1770580402","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-desert-lands-of-lost-borders","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}